Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
“States must play a proactive role in implementing climate policies”: Dr. Harsh Vardhan
Environment Ministry organises workshop with states on climate action
Reiterating that the fight against climate change has to become a social movement, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan has said that States are important partners in implementing the climate change vision of the country. Addressing the inaugural session of the national workshop on “Taking forward the climate agenda” here today, the Minister urged the State Governments to increasingly play a proactive role in the implementation of climate policies. Dr. Vardhan pointed out that States must create their own initiatives for climate action beyond implementing central policies. He added that the issues of transfer of technology and finance continue to be major issues in dealing with climate change.
The Minister averred that several pioneering initiatives and innovative approaches for addressing climate change, beyond national level initiatives, are being championed by the state governments. Citing the Green Good Deeds movement in this context, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that adopting one Green Good every day, Green Good Behaviour, Green Social Responsibility and adopting Green Practices will help in fighting climate change. The Minister urged the States to undertake ambitious climate action on both, mitigation as well as adaptation, beyond the schemes of Government of India.
Dr. Vardhan underlined that both the National Action Plan on Climate Change  and State Action Plan on Climate Change  had been conceptualized almost a decade ago. “Thus, the ministry is taking steps for revision for the national missions of NAPCC as well as the SAPCCs to reflect the current climate change realities”, the Minister said.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan stressed that climate change issue will be successfully handled only by the people of this world. He requested the State governments to take measures to strengthen the climate change nodal departments by providing adequate resources to the departments, so that they can function optimally. He also appreciated the pivotal role played by the State climate change nodal departments in driving climate action at the state level by serving as a critical link between Central government and state government on climate change issues.
India has been addressing climate change as one of the key national priorities. The scheme has been designed to facilitate the implementation of the SAPCCs, which provides an over-arching framework for guiding climate action at the state level. A presentation made during the inaugural session of the workshop informed the gathering that 11 States have submitted second proposals under NAPCC and 27 adaptation projects, including a multi-state regional project, are being implemented.
The National Action Plan on Climate Change  and State Action Plan on Climate Change  guide climate actions in the country. India also submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution  on October 2, 2015 for the period of 2021-2030 and ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016. State governments are key stakeholders in driving climate change action at the sub national level and would play an even more significant role in combating climate change in the post-2020 period.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change organized today’s meeting in an effort to further strengthen the engagement with States on climate change issues. Joint Secretary, MoEF&CC, Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Scientist ‘G’, MoEF&CC, Dr. J.R Bhatt and Executive Managing Director, NABARD, Mr. H.R. Dave also addressed the gathering.